A Wine Lover's Weekly Guide To $10 Wines - A French Pinot Noir From Rothschild

Last week's wine came from the innovative California winemaker, Robert Mondavi. This review is devoted to a wine made by a famous French winemaker, Baron Philippe de Rothschild. Prior to their death, these two wine-making giants collaborated; their most famous joint effort is the very pricey and probably overpriced Opus One, a Cabernet Sauvignon. Today's wine is a Pinot Noir from the up and coming Languedoc region of southwestern France. While Pinot Noir is a common and often prized red grape variety grown in many parts of France it is somewhat of a newcomer to this major, but not prestigious wine growing region. So let's see what happens when we combine a great grape, an up-and-coming wine region, and a famous wine house in a low-priced bottle.

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review have been purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed Philippe de Rothschild Pinot Noir 2008 12.5% alcohol about $10

Let's start by quoting the marketing materials. Tasting Note : Medium red violet; aromas and flavors of dried red berries, sour cherry, cranberry and spice, with a hint of vanilla; dry, medium bodied, soft yet balanced palate; good length. Serving Suggestion : Vegetarian lasagna, roast pork and grilled salmon or burgers. And now for my review.

At the first sips the wine was earthy with nice, round tannins. Its first pairing was with a commercial honey and garlic chicken breast accompanied by rice and a Moroccan-style tomato and garlic salsa. The wine showed soft acidity and tobacco. With the salsa the wine's earthiness intensified but it also became harsher.

The next meal consisted of a slow-cooked beef stew. The Pinot Noir was nicely acidic but the earth taste was almost completely gone and there wasn't much fruit. I added some powerful green jalapeno pepper sauce the wine grew marginally stronger.

My final meal involved a boxed eggplant parmagiana slathered with parmesan cheese. While the nice acidity of the wine met the acidity of the tomato sauce, there was not a lot of fruit.

I ended the bottle with two local cheeses. With a yellow cheddar the Pinot Noir was fairly muted. It was a bit sweet with a taste of cherries. With a stronger tasting asiago cheese the wine picked up a bit of intensity but not really enough.

Final verdict. This wasn't a close call; I don't plan to buy this wine again. Even at this price it wasn't really up to snuff.


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Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten computer and Internet books, but definitely prefers drinking fine French, German, or other wine. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. His global wine website www.theworldwidewine.com features a weekly review of $10 wines and new sections writing about and tasting organic and kosher wines. Visit his Italian wine website www.theitalianwineconnection.com .